GOP: Rep. Peter Cownie Named House Ways and Means Chairman

This morning, House Speaker Linda Upmeyer (R-Clear Lake) named Rep. Peter Cownie (R-West Des Moines) the new Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Cownie has been a member of the Ways and Means Committee since 2011. This session, he was the floor manager for Senate File 2417, reforming the state tax code and reducing income taxes for middle class Iowa families and small business owners in a thoughtful, pragmatic way.

“It is an honor to be chosen to lead the Ways and Means Committee,” said Cownie. “As legislators, it is our duty to always be respectful of the dollars that the hard-working taxpayers of Iowa send to their state government. After passing historic tax reform last session, we will continue and look for opportunities to protect taxpayers and allow Iowans to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

Cownie most recently served as Chairman of the Commerce Committee, a position he had held since 2013. This past session, the Commerce Committee advanced critical legislation to help Iowans, including bills that provided consumers with new affordable health care coverage options and extended insurance coverage for telehealth services to expand access to health care in rural Iowa. He also served as Chairman of the State Government Committee from 2011-13. He was first elected in 2008.

“Rep. Cownie has been an asset to the House Republican caucus and has had great success leading other important committees in the Iowa House,” said Upmeyer. “He has a proven track record of protecting taxpayers and I am confident in his abilities to craft sound, forward-looking tax policy that will benefit Iowa families.”